2020 Bonesology WinterValentine's Challenge
by Dukefan1982
Summary: This is my take on the 2020 Bonesology Winter/Valentine s Challenge. The challenge runs from January 21 - March 31st. The stories will be separate stories/ drabbles. They will also be all over the Bones timeline, pre-season 1, in the 12 seasons and post season 12… mostly B&B but others might pop up.
1. Chapter 1 Vacation

**A/N: This my take on the 2020 Bonesology Winter/Valentines Challenge. I'm doing the first one: Write nine stories, where each entry includes a word from the lists below (story 1 from the 'V' list, story 2 from the 'A' list, etc.) The stories don't have to be connected, and different forms of the word (admire/admiration, lucky/luck) are fine. Since the letters 'E' and 'N' appear twice, there are two lists for each letter. The challenge runs from January 21 - March 31st. The stories will be separate stories/ drabbles. They will also be all over the Bones timeline, pre-season 1, in the 12 seasons and post season 12… mostly B&B but others might pop up.**

**The first word is vacation, and takes place season 9 before everything went BOOM!**

B&B

"Bones, let's take a vacation!"

"Why, Booth?"

"Because our last case was hard on us, you more than me. We both need a break, you need some uninterrupted sleep that starts before 1am…I know you're not sleeping well when you do sleep."

"You're not either…"

"I haven't slept that well since my first deployment…"

"…it's worse now…"

"…A little, that's why we need a vacation. We need to recharge ourselves and forget the last week and a half…"

"…I'll never forget the case, every time I close my eyes I see Christine…"

"Bones…"

"I'm fine…"

"You're not… what do you say?"

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere you want."

"I don't want to go anywhere…"

"Okay. What if we got a hotel downtown and just hang out and relax. We can go to a lot of the tourist attractions around town."

"We could stay home and do all of those things…"

"Yes, but if we stayed home you'd work on a book or review some journal article. I would go to the range or work on my car. We need to get away from our normal for a few days."

"How long would we be 'gone'?

"Three or four days, I was thinking we could leave Tuesday after work and come back Sunday afternoon."

"When would we go?"

"As soon as we can get the time off and get Max or Angela to watch Christine."

"I'd like her to come with us…"

"Okay. So, you're willing to go on vacation?"

"Yes, even though I think it's silly to get a hotel when we could stay home and go to tourist attractions…"

"It'll be fun, you'll see. I'll make the reservations and stuff." Booth kissed Brennan.

"Okay. "

B&B

Two weeks later Booth loaded their bags, and Christine's stroller and pack 'N play in the SUV. His plan was to work through the morning then go to the hotel after he had lunch with Brennan and get checked in and drop off their stuff then go finish up the work day. that afternoon he went to the lab and got Brennan and Christine so they could start their staycation. Brennan didn't put up too much of a fight about leaving the lab early and that worried Booth a little. The drive to the hotel was mostly silent except for Christine's happy babbling.

"You're awfully quiet, Bones. Are you okay?"

Yes, I'm just tired…"

"We'll be there in a few minutes, then you can relax for the next four days."

"I hate to admit this, but I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm looking forward to it too, Bones."

Ten minutes later Booth pulled up to the hotel. "You got a room for us at the Watergate hotel?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to stay here. When I first moved here I couldn't afford it, I could barely afford my apartment and food then. Anyway now seemed like good time…" Booth shrugged.

"Did you get room 214?"

"No, it was already booked, otherwise I would have…"

Brennan laughed and started to get out of the SUV. "I'll get Christine."

"Okay." Booth handed Brennan a keycard. Brennan got Christine out of her car seat and waited for Booth to walk around the SUV before going inside.

"Waiting on me, Bones?"

"Yes, I thought it'd be nice to go in together."

Booth smiled a little and kissed Brennan's cheek before putting his hand lightly on the small of her back and going inside. They took the elevator to the fifth floor and Booth led Brennan to their room, he opened the door and stepped back and let Brennan and Christine enter.

"You got a suite, Booth?"

"Yes, I thought we'd enjoy the extra room and a little more privacy. It's only one bedroom, we can put the pack N play in the living room. It also has a balcony."

"It will be nice. We need to figure out dinner so Christine can eat, have her bath and go to bed. I want stick to her routine as much as possible."

"Right. We could eat at one of the restaurants here, we can go somewhere or we can order room service."

"Let's get room service tonight."

"Okay."

Forty minutes later Christine was sitting in her stroller while Brennan fed her macaroni and cheese, green beans, and applesauce. "How is your pork chop and rice and broccoli, Booth?"

"Really good. How's your salad?"

"It's really good, too. I think Christine is enjoying her dinner."

"The macaroni and cheese is good, I tried a bite, and it's not as good as yours though." Brennan grinned a little and fed Christine another bite.

An hour later Brennan handed Christine to Booth and sat down on the couch next to him. "Christine enjoyed her bath, I let her splash and play in the tub longer than I do at home."

"Aww that's fun." Booth laid Christine on his shoulder and started rubbing her back. Fifteen minutes later he laid a sound asleep Christine in her crib.

"Let's go out on the balcony, I'll leave the door open so we'll hear if she needs us."

"Okay." They stood on the balcony, Booth with his arms around Brennan. "I forgot how beautiful the city is at night."

"It really is…"

B&B

It was almost 8:30 in the morning when Brennan walked into the living room to Booth feeding Christine scrambled eggs. "Hey, Bones. Did you enjoy sleeping in?"

"Yes. I can't remember the last time I slept this late."

"Probably when we got food poising from the FBI barbeque 4 years ago… I got you toast and fruit. Christine stole some of your blueberries."

Brennan smiled and kissed Booth and Christine. "That's fine she can have more if she wants. Did she sleep in?"

"I think we're good. She slept until 8."

Brennan nodded and poured herself a cup of coffee. "What are we doing today, Booth?"

"You're going to the spa at 10. Christine and I are going to the pool while you're there. After you get done we'll go somewhere for lunch. Then we'll go to the National Postal Museum."

"I'd rather go to the pool with you and Christine…"

"Tomorrow. Spa today. You always say you feel so much better after you get back from going with Angela."

"I do, but I don't want to waste my time that I could be spending with the two of you."

"We don't want to waste any time with you either. It's only a two hour treatment. Go. Enjoy."

"Okay." Brennan finished breakfast and got ready to go to the spa. Booth finished feeding Christine and got her ready for the pool.

B&B

Two hours later Booth and Christine were waiting for Brennan when she got out of the spa. "Momma?" Brennan smiled and took Christine from Booth. "Hello sweetheart, did you have fun with dada in the pool?"

"I think she did, she loved splashing me. We should look into putting her in toddler swimming lessons, Becca had Parker in them, and he loved it."

"I'll see if Angela wants Michael Vincent to do it, that way if we have to work she may not miss a lesson…"

"Good thinking. How was the spa?"

It was great, my massage was wonderful. You should get one before we go home. It will help your back."

''I will. Ready for lunch?"

"Yes, can we get Thai?"

"Yeah, there's a place not far from here." They stopped by the room to get Christine's stroller before they set out for lunch. After some of the best Thai food they'd ever had topped off by coconut ice-cream they headed to the National Postal museum, Christine quickly fell asleep.

"Christine is asleep."

"Good, it's her naptime she had a good lunch and the constant movement of her stroller should help her asleep for a while."

"Yeah." Booth covered Christine with a light blanket and kissed her cheek while Brennan reclined the stroller. They made their way through the exhibits, Booth's favorite was the one that covered the purpose and workings of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the law portion of the U.S. Postal service that protects people from mail fraud among other things. When they were done at the museum Booth and Brennan headed back to the hotel for more pool time and another room service dinner.

B&B

The next morning after everyone slept in Booth ordered everyone pancakes before they headed to the International Spy Museum, this was Booth's favorite. Christine was awake this time and wanted Booth to carry her the whole time, something he happily did. Once they were done there they got lunch from a local deli and headed to the park for a picnic and to let Christine play on the playground. After lunch and the playground Booth and Brennan headed to the hotel so Christine could nap, while Christine was napping Booth headed for his massage. When he got back to the room Christine was up listening to Brennan read to her. Brennan looked up, "How was your massage, Booth?"

"Fantastic, my back has never felt better. You can use the spa without having a reservation, I might come and get a massage once in a while."

"You should, you deserve it."

"Are you enjoying our trip so far, Bones?"

"Yes, we need to do this again when Parker is here this summer, he'd enjoy the spy museum."

"You're right he would. We'll do it again when he's here. What do you want to do tonight?"

"Let's go to the pool for a while so Christine can have fun, then go explore Georgetown and find somewhere for dinner."

"Sounds good to me, Bones."

B&B

Friday they had a day for Christine, they went to the National Zoo after breakfast then after lunch they went to the National Children's Museum. They ended the day in the hotel pool. After dinner Brennan laid Christine in her crib and sat on the couch next to Booth. "I think Christine had a good day."

"She did. She went to the zoo and saw all kinds of animals. Then we went to the Children's museum and she got to play with all kinds of things. She got to eat spaghetti with her hands and play in the pool. It's the perfect day for a two year old."

"It really was. I think she's really enjoyed having us to herself for the last three days."

"She has. I've enjoyed spending time with her, and you for the last three days."

"I have too. We need to do things like this more often."

"We do…"

B&B

Saturday they went to the monuments and memorials. Booth held Christine close and explained everything to her, the two year old just laid her head on Booth's shoulder and stayed quiet. When they got to Arlington National Cemetery Brennan took Christine and hung back a little to give Booth privacy, he gently pulled on her hand, bringing Brennan and Christine up to stand next to him. They ended the day walking along the Mall and getting dinner from their favorite Mexican food truck.

Sunday Brennan woke up to Christine snuggled next to her in bed. She kissed the little girl's head and looked at Booth. "She woke up at 5, I changed her and gave her a half sippy cup of water and she started to get tired so I put her in bed with us. She went right to sleep."

"I don't want to go home. I've enjoyed our trip more than I thought I would."

"I've enjoyed our trip a lot too, Bones. We don't have to go home. We can checkout, get some breakfast and go to another museum or something."

"I'd like to go to the Jeffersonian…"

"No work until tomorrow, Bones…"

"I know. I want to go through it, I've only ever seen the parts I've had to work in…."

"Okay. We'll check out and get breakfast at the dinner then spend the day at Jeffersonian…"

"Okay." Brennan got out of bed then woke up Christine and got her dressed while Booth packed their bags up and loaded the SUV.

* * *

**A/N: The actual room 214 at The Watergate hotel is now a suite that is decorated with things that embrace the scandal. If you don't know what the Watergate Scandal is Google it….**


	2. Chapter 2 Absence

**A/N: The word for this one is absence**

* * *

Angela stood on the bottom of the stairs leading to limbo and watched Brennan, she could tell the anthropologist was trying unsuccessfully to hide her emotions. She shook her head and walked over to Brennan. "Bren, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Ange, I just have a lot of work to do…"

"Sweetie, don't lie to me…"

Brennan picked up the right tibia, studied it for a minute and carefully placed it back on the light table, she sighed and looked at Angela. "I miss Booth…a lot…"

"Aw Bren, that's not a bad thing."

"We've been apart before and I haven't missed him as much as I do now. We just spent seven months apart and I missed him as much as I did everyone…"

"You missed Booth more, but that's a discussion for another day…"

"I don't understand why this time I feel different…"

"Because this time it's different. You admitted to yourself that you love Booth, your brain finally knows what your heart has known for seven years. You're in a committed relationship with Booth. You're going to have his baby… that's why you feel different…"

"I suppose."

"When is he coming home?"

"He should be home by this time tomorrow…"

"That's good. Do you want to have a girl's night in tonight? Hodgins can watch Michael Vincent while we hang out…"

"No, I'm just going to work on this set of remains…."

"Okay, I'm giving you two hours to finish then if you're not home or on your way I'm coming back and making you go home…"

"Okay, Ange. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Sure, Bren."

B&B

Angela headed upstairs and got her stuff to head home. On her way out if the lab she ran into  
Booth. "Hey Booth, Brennan said you weren't coming home until tomorrow…"

"The lecture for tomorrow was canceled, so I changed my flight."

"Brennan will be really happy to see you. She's really missed you this trip and has had a hard time understanding why."

"Is she okay?"

"Brennan is fine, she's letting herself feel things she's denied existed until you two got back from your trips to opposite corners of the world and it's freaking her out a little…She's in limbo…"

"Thanks Ange."

"You're welcome. Go take her home, she's coping with you being gone by working all night again."

"I will…" Booth made his way into the lab and down to limbo. He quietly walked to the other side of the table. Brennan was examining the right tibia again. "Ange, I told you I have a lot of work to do. I don't wish to have a girl's night in. I also know you haven't been gone for my allotted two hours…"

"I'm not Angela…"

Brennan slowly put the bone down and looked up. "Booth!" Before Booth could say anything she had stripped off her gloves off and was in his arms. "Whoa, Bones! I missed you too!" Booth chuckled a little.

"I had a harder than expected time with your absence…" Brennan shrugged in Booth's arms."

"I missed you a lot too. When you go on your book tour next fall, the baby and I are coming with you."

"Okay."

"Okay? You're agreeing just like that?"

"Yes. I really don't like being away from you now that we're officially together. I don't really understand why I feel this way now. Angela said it's because I finally admitted I love you and because we're in a committed relationship and because I'm going to have your baby."

Booth couldn't help laughing as he kissed Brennan. "Angela is right. Being away from you was different for me this time too. I couldn't wait to get home to you and the baby. I was the only one who changed their flight when the last day of the conference was canceled. All the others stayed to have a free day in Boston."

"I'm very happy you came home early." Brennan smiled and took Booth's hand and placed it on her side. "Someone else is happy you're home early."

Booth smiled, "that's amazing I can finally feel movement on the outside."

"It is quite amazing, it started yesterday. I started to tell you last night when you called, but then I decided to surprise you."

"I am surprised and happy. Put your bones away so we can get some dinner and go home. I don't know about you, but I didn't sleep that well without you next to me."

"I didn't sleep that well either. Give me a few minutes."

"Take your time." Forty five minutes later Booth and Brennan walked hand in hand out of the lab.


	3. Chapter 3 Lab

**A/N: the word for this one is lab and it takes place post season 12…**

* * *

The Jeffersonian employee daycare closed just after lunch after they lost heat in their part of the building. Rather than loose Brennan and Angela for the rest of the day Cam made an exception to her 'no children in the lab' rule as long as four year old Hank and five month old Katherine stayed in their mother's offices. Hank was happily laying on Brennan's office floor coloring and drawing pictures for her to hang in her office.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Hank?"

"Are those heads on the wall real?"

"The skulls are real, Hank." Brennan closed her file and pushed her chair back, standing up. Brennan went over to the shelves and picked up one of the skulls and walked over to where Hank was now sitting up. She knelt next to him. "This skull belonged to a man a little younger than daddy."

"Oh. Why do you have it?"

"Before daddy and I started working together I went to faraway places and I'd find skeletons and I'd identify them. Sometimes I wouldn't find the whole skeleton so I'd bring what I did find home in case I found the rest of the skeleton someday."

"Oh. What do bones look like?"

Brennan smiled a little and kissed Hank's forehead," I'll answer your question in a minute. Finish coloring your picture."

"Okay."

Brennan stood up and put the skull back on the shelf and left her office. She went in the bone room and pulled a set of remains from the storage system, after making sure it wasn't a child and they hadn't been shot she quickly laid the bones out in anatomic order on the light table. With that done Brennan went back to her office.

"Hank, do you want to see what bones really look like?"

"Yeah…"

"Come with me…"

"Okay." Hank put his crayons back in their box and walked to Brennan, taking her hand. Brennan walked Hank to the Bone Room and picked him up, sitting him on a stool. "Please do not touch anything unless I say you can."

"Okay."

"This is what the bones in your body look like without the muscles and skin covering them. The human adult body has 206 bones that make up the skeletal system. Children's skeletons have 300 bones that make up their skeletal system. As you grow the bones in your skull fuse together. The three small bones in your sternum fuse to form one bone." Brennan snapped on gloves and picked up the sternum and held it where Hank could see and pointed out where the bones fused together.

"Cool."

Brennan smiled, "Yes, bones are cool." Brennan spent the next 45 minutes giving Hank a simplistic bone lesson, he listened intently and asked a lot of questions. When Brennan finished, she helped Hank put on a pair of way too big gloves and hold a tibia. "Mommy, where did the bones come from?"

"You know that usually police find bones and if they don't know who they are or how they died they call me and daddy so we can figure it out, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sometimes instead of calling me and daddy, the police and other museums just send the bones to me. That's how I got these bones."

"Oh. Do all these boxes have bones in them?"

"Most of them. I work on the bones in these boxes when I don't have any bones to work on with daddy."

"Cool. Can I go watch movies in Aunt Angela's office now?"

"Yes." Brennan helped Hank take off his gloves and carried him to Angela's office. With Hank happily watching Disney movies and eating snacks in Angela's office Brennan retuned to the Bone Room and started working on the set of remains she'd showed Hank.

B&B

Later that night Booth was tucking Hank in, "did you have fun at the lab with mommy, today?"

"Yep. Bones are cool!"

Booth chuckled, "They are… Mommy is the coolest bone lady in the world!"

"Yep!" Booth kissed Hank's forehead and headed for the living room, he sat next to Brennan.

"Hank really enjoyed the afternoon in the lab with you. He says bones are cool!"

"They are cool. I enjoyed having him with me at the lab today. I wish I could have him and Christine with me more often."

"Talk to Cam, they're not babies anymore. They're well behaved and you know they'd stay with you."

"Hank, had lots of questions, not about what you and I do, his questions were about bones. I was a little surprised."

"Maybe he'll be a squint when he grows up..."

"Perhaps, but it doesn't matter if he's not. All that matters is he's happy."

"Yeah…"


	4. Chapter 4 Envelope

**A/N; The word in this one is envelope…takes place post season 12…**

* * *

Booth and Brennan had spent the day making Hank's room into a 'big kid' room. They were done, Booth was helping the four year old put his toys away. Brennan was putting some keepsakes in a box she had for Hank's things in the closet as she pulled it down she noticed an unlabeled box. Brennan put the things in Hank's box, then she pulled the other box down. Brennan carried the box over to the bed and sat down, she put the box next to her and took the lid off. Brennan saw immediately that it was a box of Booth's Military keepsakes. Brennan was about to put the lid on the box when she saw an envelope addressed to her at the Jeffersonian. Brennan took the envelope out of the box, noticing it wasn't sealed she withdrew the sheet of notebook paper.

_B__ones, _

_If you're reading this it means I had to be a hero and won't be meeting you at the coffee cart a year from yesterday. I'm sorry I broke a promise I made to you, I didn't want to, but I had to what was asked of me. None of this is your fault. I'd have come back here even if you hadn't sort of talked me into it. I love you. I've loved you since I first saw you in that lecture hall lecturing about de-fleshing techniques. The lecture gave me the willies, but I loved it and you at the same time. I'm sorry I gave you an ultimatum about our relationship in front of Sweets office a few months ago, you're the only person I wasn't to spend the next 30,40,or 50 years with. If I were coming home we'd talk about it and work it out. I'd wait for you to as long as I had to until you realized you could be my soulmate. I know you'll try and act like my death doesn't bother you, let it bother you, okay? It'll be good for you. Let Angela and Cam plan a memorial for me if they want, just make sure it's dignified. Make sure they serve good food at the reception. Don't be too mad at me, I fought like hell to come home to you and Parker. Can you make sure he gets the box on my bed?" Cam knows where my important papers are and what I want my arrangements to be. I arranged with Cullen for Perotta to be your partner. I trust her, she'll keep you safe. I know it will be hard for everyone to work with someone else, but do it for me. You squints do the hard part, I just shoot things and arrest people! When you get back can you visit Pops every once and awhile? We both know Jared won't…Come visit me too once and awhile. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to, but if you do I'll always listen._

_I'll love you forever and always, _

_Booth_

B&B

"Bones?" Brennan let the letter fall into her lap and looked up at Booth with tears in her eyes to see him standing in the doorway of their room. Booth quickly walked to her.

"Hey what's wrong?" Booth noticed the paper in her lap. "Oh, you found the letter I wrote you before I shipped out…"

"I was putting the keepsakes of Hank's away and saw an unmarked box. I pulled it down and when I looked inside and saw your Amy stuff I started to put it back, but then I saw the letter…." Brennan started sobbing harder then.

Booth pulled her to him. "Shh Bones, it's okay you read the letter. I'm just happy you found it in a box instead of getting it in the mail. I meant every word of it, still do…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't be the someone that you could be with for 30, 40, or 50 years…"

"Bones, don't be sorry! Everything worked out. We've been marred almost 6 years and have two great kids. I don't know about you, but my life is pretty great now…. "

"Mine too. I love you, Booth."

"I love you too, Bones." Booth started to kiss Brennan, after a while she broke the kiss.

"What Box did you want me to make sure went to Parker?"

"This one. It has all my medals and stuff in it…It still goes to him unless you think Christine or Hank would like it…"

"No, it goes to Parker. He'll remember your deployment…"

"Good now that that's settled, stop talking so I can kiss you some more…"

"…Christine and Hank?"

"…Are watching movies on Netflix Kids in my man cave. I told them they can watch two or three. They have snacks and drinks. Plus there is a bathroom down there…" Brennan smiled and quickly put the lid on the box then put it on the floor


	5. Chapter 5 Neighbor

**A/N: The word for this one is neighbor and takes place in season 7. Parker has not moved to England….**

* * *

Brennan was on her way to meet Booth and Parker at the diner for breakfast then they were going to Booth's hockey game. Brennan was crossing the lobby when her neighbor, Mrs. Wheaton cam inside from walking her dog.

"Hello dear."

"Hello Mrs. Wheaton, did you and Smoky have a nice walk?"

"Yes, it wasn't too cold this morning. Where is that handsome FBI Agent who has been staying at your apartment overnight for the past two weeks?"

Brennan smiled a little, "Agent Booth is staying at his apartment this weekend-."

"You didn't break up did you?" Mrs. Wheaton glanced at Brennan's noticeable baby bump.

"No. his son is staying with him this weekend…"

"Oh. Are you two getting married?"

"We haven't discussed it…"

"A child needs both of its parents…"

"Regardless of whether Booth and I are married or not we're going to raise our child together… I need to go, I'm meeting them for breakfast…" before Mrs. Wheaton could say anything Brennan left the apartment building.

B&B

When she got to the diner Brennan smiled, Booth and Parker were sitting at their table, the younger Booth was building towers with the jelly packets. When Parker heard the bell ring over the door he looked up and ran to Brennan, hugging her.

"Bones, I'm glad you're finally here! We can order breakfast now, I'm starving!"

Booth shook his head, "Parker, you're not starving. You had Captain Crunch strait from the box at 5 when you got up and watched cartoons…"

"Dad, that was four hours ago! I'm hungry again!"

Booth laughed, "All right. Be careful hugging Bones, you don't want to squeeze the baby…"

Parker dropped his arms and looked up at Brennan, she shook her head. "You can't squeeze the baby by hugging me. However the baby might occasionally kick in response, but you aren't hurting either of us. "Brennan gave Parker another hug and kissed the top of his head before continuing to their table and sitting across from Booth. He leaned over and kissed Brennan. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

Booth knew by her tone that whatever was wrong wasn't something Brennan wanted to discuss in front of Parker. They ordered breakfast and after they ate they went to Booth's hockey game. After the game they went to Booth's apartment for the rest of the day.

Sunday night after Booth took Parker back to Rebecca's he stopped to get his and Brennan's usual Thai order before going to her place for the next two weeks. He was waiting for the elevator when it opened up Mrs. Wheaton stepped out. "Hello Agent Booth."

"Hello Mrs. Wheaton."

"Are you back to spending the night at Temperance's apartment?"

"Yes…"

"Well, enjoy."

"I will."

"Yes, I imagine you will…Agent Booth, take care of her… make sure she eats regularly, make sure she doesn't work all night. Make sure she experiences things that have nothing to do with what the two of you do for a living… don't die before she does, she won't survive without you. A few years ago when you pretended to be dead when she came home that night she didn't leave her apartment for four days. By the third day I sweet talked the landlord into unlocking her door for me. I found her on the couch staring at the wall, it looked like she hadn't eaten or showered since she left for work that morning. I went to my apartment and got the vegetable soup I made that day, thankfully I didn't put meat in that pot…. I got her to clean up and eat. We didn't talk about it, I knew what happened from the news. As I was cleaning up her place her phone rang, she ignored it. On the third call I answered, it was her friend Angela, she was here a half hour later… When I found out you weren't dead, I wanted to strangle you for putting her through that."

"The notification that I wasn't dead was out of my control…"

"I know that, now…"

"Thank you for taking care of Temperance."

"You're welcome, dear. Enjoy your night."

"We will." Booth got on the elevator and a few mantle later he was sitting the bags of food down on Brennan's coffee table.

"Booth, what took you so long?"

"I had a little chat with Mrs. Wheaton as she was getting off the elevator."

"Did she ask if we were getting married? Then tell you a child needs both its parents?"

"No. did she ask you if we were getting married?"

"Yes, yesterday as I was leaving to meet you and Parker. I told her that we hadn't discussed it…"

"Do you want to get married?"

"Maybe at some point I would, but for right now I just want to live together like we are and raise our daughter. I know you would like to get married though…."

"I would, but only to you. I'm just as happy to wait until you're ready. If we spend the rest of our lives together raising our daughter and any other kids we have without getting married, I'm perfectly fine with that too."

"I love you, Booth."

"I love you too, Bones. Let's eat, foods getting cold!"


	6. Chapter 6 Temperature

**A/N: The word for this one is temperature. Takes place season 12 before Max dies…**

* * *

It was the Friday after Valentine's Day. Booth and Brennan had celebrated the day in their traditional nontraditional way at the shooting range with vintage guns. Booth had convinced Brennan to take a long weekend with him, not to celebrate Valentine's Day, but to just spend time together alone. They hadn't been alone for more than 12 hours since before Hank was born. Brennan agreed and Booth booked them a room at a bed and breakfast in Charlottesville Virginia for a long weekend. Max was going to get Christine from school and Hank from daycare, they were excited about spending the whole weekend with their grandpa. Brennan was meeting Booth at the diner for lunch, she stopped as soon as she saw Booth sitting at their normal table, she knew instantly he wasn't feeling well and they would not be going on their planned weekend getaway. Brennan walked to the table, Booth looked up and tried to smile. "Hey Bones." Booth's voice was hoarse.

Brennan smiled and instinctually touched Booth's cheek. "Hello, Booth. I can tell you're not feeling well…"

"I'm fine, Bones…"

"You are many things, but at this moment fine is not one of them. Your body temperature is elevated and you can barely speak…"

"I do not have a fever…My allergies are acting up, I had to go pull some old casefiles…"

Brennan nodded as the waitress came to take their orders. She ordered a salad for herself and chicken noodle soup and hot tea with lemon and honey for Booth.

"Bones, I don't need you to order for me…"

"You need to save your voice, Booth. You should go home after we finish lunch."

"I have work to do so we can take Monday off…"

"Booth, we're not going on our trip this weekend. You're sick and won't enjoy it."

"I'm not sick, Bones… We're going on our trip…" Their food arrived.

"Come back to the lab so I can take your temperature, if it's normal we'll go. If it's elevated you're going home…"

"No, Bones!" Booth took a bite of his soup and winced slightly as he swallowed it. The rest of lunch was quiet. Brennan kissed Booth's forehead before she went back to the lab. "I really wish you'd go home, Booth. You're warner."

"I'm fine, Bones."

B&B

Ten minutes later Booth stood in Brennan's office doorway. "Bones, take my temperature so I can tell Stark I'm sick and go home. I feel like crap…"

"Go sit down, Booth." Booth walked into the office and all but collapsed on the couch. Brennan grabbed the thermometer off her desk and went over to the couch. A few minutes later she looked at the display "101.3."

"Guess I'll go home…"

"That would be best. Do you want me to inform Stark of your illness and that you're going home?" Booth nodded a little and started to leave Brennan's office.

"Let me know that you got home okay." Booth nodded again. Brennan watched him leave the lab then she dialed Stark.

Forty minutes later Brennan got a selfie of Booth laying on the couch with Christine's large pink and purple fuzzy fleece blanket over him. He looked worse. A few hours later Brennan quietly let herself into the house, she put her bags in the kitchen. When she had a pot of Vegetable noodle soup made she filled two of the large soup mugs Booth insisted they buy and headed to wake him up. "Booth…"

Booth moaned and turned his head away from Brennan.

"Booth, you need to wake up so you can eat and probably take some medication then you can go back to sleep. I brought your soup over so all you have to do is sit up…" Booth groaned again but slowly opened his eyes and sat up. Brennan smiled slightly and handed him his mug of soup. "Thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome, Booth. Do you feel better?"

"No, but I don't feel worse…"

"That's good."

"Yeah. I'm sorry I ruined our trip, Bones."

"You didn't ruin it. I'm spending the weekend with you, that's all I really wanted… I wish you weren't sick so we could really enjoy the children being with dad until Monday afternoon…"

Booth couldn't help laughing, "Me too, Bones. I'm sure Max will keep them for us another weekend."

"Yes. I got the bed and breakfast to give us a credit toward another reservation."

"How'd you do that? They have to have 48 hours' notice for cancellations…"

"I dropped my name, it turns out that the owner is a Kathy and Andy fan…" Brennan blushed.

"I love you, Bones. So much…"

"I love you too, Booth. I was thinking we could use our credit for our anniversary."

"Sounds good to me, Bones."

"Eat your soup, Booth."

"Yes ma'am…" Brennan rolled her eyes and chuckled.


	7. Chapter 7 Instructor

**A/N: The word for this one is instructor and takes place post season 12…**

* * *

It had been three weeks since the lab explosion. The day after they got everything taken care of Booth whisked everyone to Virginia Beach for two weeks in the sun and sand so Brennan could fully recover from her head injury and he could relax. Together they tried to ease Christine's lingering fears over losing Max and the events that led up to his death. They were back home now and Brennan was recovered and figuring out what she wanted to do for the next eight to twelve months while the lab was renovated. Once construction crews and engineers got inside and really looked at the damage the bomb caused they determined it was going to take a lot longer to repair than they first thought. Booth came into the kitchen after tucking Christine and Hank in.

"Everybody is out for the count. Hank was fussy tonight for some reason…"

"That's good. Hank might be getting a new tooth soon…"

"Yeah." Booth stood on the other side of the counter and looked at the mail Brennan was going through. "Bones, why are you getting mail from Yale?"

"Because they want me to be an adjunct instructor for most of their summer anthropology courses and possibly fall too if I don't have a lab to go to…"

"Do it. The lab is a mess and will be unusable for the foreseeable future. You love teaching squints."

"I can't. Yale is five and a half hours away. I would never see you or the children. I was sort of looking forward to being able to spend the summer with them…"

"It's only a 45 minute flight, Bones. The kids and I can fly in Friday, spend most of the weekend with you and fly home Sunday night. Or we can all move there…"

"Booth, be serious!"

"I am. Work is gonna suck without you and everyone else at the lab helping out. I'm not sure I want to experience working without you again."

"You did both times I was on maternity leave and when dad and I were on the run…"

"Yeah but I still had the lab to help me out…"

"I don't know, Booth. It's a big decision…"

Booth took Brennan's hands forcing him to look at him. "If we weren't married or had kids would you do it?"

"Yes, of course…I miss teaching…"

"Then just think about it, whatever you decide I'll support. If you want to do it we'll work out the travel stuff. I love you." Booth kissed Brennan's forehead.

"I love you too, Booth."

B&B

Six weeks later Booth carried Brennan's last box in her furnished two bedroom faculty apartment. Christine and Hank were sitting on the couch watching their portable DVD player. "This is the last of it, Bones. " Booth carried the box to the spare bedroom that was doubling as Brennan's office. They spent a few days getting Brennan settled and exploring New Haven before Booth and the kids went home. There were a few tears, but Booth gently reminded everyone that they would be back in a week when school was out for the year to spend a few weeks with Brennan.

B&B

Brennan was heading to her office after spending morning teaching, she turned the corner and smiled, Booth was sitting in one of the chairs outside her office door waiting for her. "Booth, what are doing here?"

"I came to take my favorite adjunct anthropology instructor to lunch to celebrate her first morning teaching squints in training in 13 years." Booth kissed Brennan.

"Booth…"

"No cameras in this hall I checked…" Brennan laughed and kissed Booth back before unlocking her office and going inside, Booth followed and gave her the bunch of daises he'd laid on the chair next to him and momentarily forgotten to give to her.

"They're beautiful, Booth. Thank you." Brennan kissed Booth. "I can't believe you flew here just to have lunch with me…"

"Why not? I miss having lunch with you. I dropped Christine off at school and took Hank to Angela's. Then I called Aubrey to see if there was anything I needed to do at the Hoover, there wasn't. I told him what I was going to do and headed to Dulles and got a flight. I had three hours to wait before takeoff so I grabbed some donuts and coffee from dunkin' and grabbed the new Baldacci novel from the bookstore and found a seat…."

"I've missed you so much, Booth…the children too…"

"Christine can't wait for me to pick her up on the last day of school so we can fly here to spend a few weeks with you. Hank is excited too, but I don't think he really understands that we're going to get on a plane and come see you. "

"I can't wait either… I hope Hank does okay with the flight and popping his ears."

"I've got gum and safety pops for their ears, we'll be fine. Let's get some lunch while you tell me all about your morning of teaching."

"Okay. " Brennan moved some things on her desk and grabbed her bag, following Booth out of the door.


	8. Chapter 8 Notebook

**A/N: The word for this one is Notebook and takes place way post season 12…**

* * *

Now that Christine and Hank had graduated college and officially moved out into their own apartments Brennan was doing a major purge of the house. She decided to start with the non-clothing items in her and Booth's closet. She pulled down a brown document box, carrying it to the bed Brennan sat down and opened the box. She smiled once she saw that it was Booth's box of memories from the FBI. When he'd reached the mandatory retirement age of fifty for the FBI Booth took over as head of daytime security at the lab which allowed him to stay busy and keep an eye on Brennan and the squints. After Booth retired from the FBI Brennan quit field work except for extreme cases. Brennan looked through the box remembering their cases and most of the injuries. Under a stack of the kids' artwork Brennan found an old, slightly worn notebook, she took it out of the box and leafed through it. She was surprised to see that the first few pages were full of the scientific names of bones and their more common names were written next to them. The notebook was filled with notes on different tests that they ran on bones and what they were used for among other things. Brennan put the notebook aside and repacked the box. An hour later the closet was straightened and Brennan moved on to Booth's dresser she opened the top drawer looked at all the pairs of striped socks and shook her head and closed the drawer. Brennan grabbed the notebook from the bed and headed to the living room. Booth was in the kitchen getting water.

"Did Hank get settled, Booth?"

"Yeah, we got all of the furniture assembled and moved. The bookcase was a pain in the ass to put together and when we got it up it was almost too tall for the living room. It's at most two inches from the ceiling. "

Brennan smiled, "at least he's settled..."

"Yeah. Bones, he's only 20 minutes away."

"I know. The house is so quiet now without him or Christine on occasion…'

'"I know. We'll get used to it. Did you get a good start on your whole house purging?"

"Yes, I organized our closet. We can now open the door without fear of stuff falling out."

"That's good."

"Yes. Booth you need to go through your sock drawer…"

"I'm not getting rid of my socks, Bones!"

"Booth you have pairs that are stretched out, have no elastic in them or have holes in them… would you prefer to go through the drawer and put aside the worn pairs to be made into a quilt or throw pillows for your man cave?"

"That would be cool. I'll go do it in a little while."

"Good." Brennan laid the notebook on the counter

"Wow. I haven't seen that in forever…" Booth picked up the notebook and flipped through it.

"When did you start writing in it, Booth?"

"While we were working the Eller case…I knew that the thing we had was special and I wanted to keep working with you and the squints. I didn't want you, Hodgins or whoever to have to keep explaining things to me like I was five years old. I started writing the science stuff down and writhing the dumbed down explanations. I'd quiz myself every week or so. Learning the bones was easy. The tests, especially the DNA stuff was hard to remember."

"Booth, I never minded explaining things to you. I've always known that while you are highly intelligent it's hard for you to keep up with everyone at the lab. You've done well these last 31 years."

"Thanks, Bones. I know you don't mind explaining things to me, but it made me feel better to learn it myself. Plus it made the lab less intimidating…."

"I understand, Booth."

"This notebook came in handy after my brain surgery, I forgot a bunch of the stuff in here. After my vision cleared I quizzed myself every day…"

"I had no idea…"

Booth shrugged a little. "I tried to give this to Aubrey when he started working with us, but he said he'd just Google everything…"

"I like your method better. When did you stop writing in it?"

"When I got back from Afghanistan. It didn't seem important anymore… I can't believe Hank has a job in the history department at Georgetown, it seems like just yesterday he was born in our bedroom…"

"Yeah, I didn't think the midwife was going to get here in time. Another ten minutes and you'd have had to deliver him."

"Thank God I didn't. Christine was enough… I can't believe we're going to be grandparents in November."

"That's what I'm looking forward to the most about retiring in September, spending time with our first grandchild."

"Me too, Bones. September 13th can't come fast enough…"


	9. Chapter 9 Escape

**A/N: The word for the final chapter is escape and takes place somewhere in season 11 or 12…**

* * *

The beeping of the motion detector woke Booth letting him know someone was moving in one of the kids bedrooms. He got up took the gun from the safe in the bedside table then he glanced at the video feed from Hank's room in time to see the 21 month old attempting to climb out of his crib. Booth quickly put the gun in the safe then walked to Hank's room. Booth scooped Hank up just before he managed to get his leg over the rail.

"Hey, hey Tiger where are you going? Booth situated Hank on his hip. "Out!"

Booth chuckled and kissed the top of the toddler's head. "Tiger, you can't climb out of your crib, you could fall and hurt yourself. If you got hurt mommy and I would be very sad… You don't want us to be sad do you?"

"No."

"If you want out of your crib call for me or mommy and we'll come get you out, okay?"

Hank nodded and grabbed a handful of Booth's t-shirt. "It's still nighttime do you want to go back to sleep in mine and mommy's bed?"

Hank nodded and laid his head on Booth's shoulder. Booth kissed the top of Hank's head as he reached into the crib and grabbed Hank's stuffed frog and favorite blanket before heading to his and Brennan's bedroom. Booth climbed back in bed with Hank in his arms, Brennan stirred. "Booth?"

"I caught Hank trying to escape from his crib…"Hank scooted over and snuggled close to Brennan, she covered him up with his blanket and kissed the top of his head. "You can't do that, sweetheart."

"I thought it would be easier to put him in bed with us for the rest of the night instead of batting staying in his crib the rest of the night." Brennan nodded and pulled Hank closer as he fell back asleep.

The next morning Brennan woke up to Hank laying half on top of her and Booth watching them.

"Morning, Bones."

"Good morning, Booth. Have you been watching me long?"

"No. I've only been awake a few minutes. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept surprisingly well, he isn't as restless as Christine is when she sleeps."

"That's good. What should we do about his 3AM escape attempt?"

Brennan ran her fingers through Hank's hair and looked up at Booth, "I'm not ready for him to move to a bed. Christine was almost two and a half before she climbed out… How old was Parker?"

"Becca moved him to a toddler bed on his second birthday. I put it together after we had spaghetti and cake. I kept him in the pack and play until he got too long for it. At that time I had a crap one bedroom apartment and he slept in it in my room. When I got the apartment I had when we got together I moved in on my non Parker weekend and when he stayed the next weekend he just got in the twin bed like no big deal. I'll lower his mattress for tonight and we'll see what happens."

"Okay."

At a little after four the next morning the motion detector beeped. Booth and Brennan sat up looking at the monitor, Hank was attempting another escape. "Looks like I'll be converting his crib into a toddler bed this afternoon…"

"…I'll get him…" Brennan got up and quickly left the room. Booth watched her get Hank before he was over the side. Brennan sat in the rocker with Hank until he was asleep again then she put him back in his crib. She climbed back in bed and snuggled next to Booth. "He said he wanted to play, but he was asleep in five minutes…"

Booth chuckled, "at least he has a reason for climbing out…"

"Yes, but I don't know if putting him in bed without rails will prevent him from playing all night and not sleeping."

"I think once the challenge of climbing from the crib is removed it won't be an issue. Besides if he does get up to play we won't have to worry about him hurting himself climbing out of the crib."

"Yes."

B&B

That night Booth and Brennan tucked Hank into his toddler bed with its new construction trucks sheets and matching blanket.

"There you're all tucked in with your frog, ready to go to sleep right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good. Remember you can't get up until the sun wakes up or mommy or I come get you up…"

"Uh-huh."

"Good night, tiger." Booth bent and kissed Hank's forehead.

"Good night, baby." Brennan bent and kissed Hank's forehead.

After making sure the night light was on, Brennan followed Booth out of the room. A half hour later Booth found Brennan in their room watching the camera feed from Hank's room.

"Bones, he's asleep… are you going to watch the feed all night?"

"Yes…"

"No, you're not. You're going to come watch TV with me. I'll make you popcorn and I'll even put M&M's in it."

"…but…"

"The app on my phone will alert if he gets up. We'll check on him before we go to bed." Booth walked over to the bed and started pulling Brennan to her feet. "Come on Bones. Hank will be fine, I promise." Brennan looked at the video feed one more time before she followed Booth out of their room. At seven the next morning Booth and Brennan were awakened by Christine and Hank climbing into their bed wanting waffles…

* * *

**A/N2: that's the end of this challenge, hope you liked it. I'll pick back up with the summer 2019 challenge in a few days…**


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